Hehey h



(No Model.)

I WITNESSES,

H. H. HOLMES.

CAR STARTER.

mvEN TDR'. j

. Patpted Maw; 1888.: j

UN T D STATES PATENT; OFFICE;

HENRY H. HOLMES, 0E JERsEY CITY, NEW JERSEY;

CA R-STARTER;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 380,260, dated March27,1888. Application filed December 5, 1887. Serial. No. 256,986. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be' it known that'I, HENRY H. HOLMES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Jersey Oity,in the county of Hudson and State-of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Starters; and Ido declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a partof this specification.

My invention consists of contrivances for the employment of anautomatically-recoiling ratchet-leverstarter, as hereinafter fullydescribed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, whichrepresents a longitudinal sectional elevation of a street-car with theappliances of a ratchet-lever starter as I arrange them.

On each axle a, I arrange a suitable ratchetwheel, 12, about midwaybetween the wheels 0 and keyed fast-thereto,with a gravitatin gquadrant-lever, e, fitted loosely on the axle alongside of eachratchet-wheel and having a gravitating pawl, f, the said levers andpawls being arranged to hang downward normally, as represented in thedrawing, and to engage and turn the ratchet and the axleand wheels whenshifted upward toward the center of the car,- and to theseratchet-levers I connect the draftrods 9 of the respective ends of thecar by chains h, passing over sheaves '5, located on a shaft, j, mountedmidway between the two axles, the sheaves turning independently of eachother, and the shaft being suspended from the car-body by any approvedbrackets is.

From the sheaves the draft-rods g extend through the yokes'Z at the endsof the car, and each rod has a stop, m, that limits the extension of thedraft-rod by coming in contact with the yoke when the ratchet-lever hasturned to the limit of its range, and thereafter the draft takes effectpositively on the car by the stop and the yoke. When the draft slacks sothat the gravity of the ratchet-lever overcomes the same, the said leverreturns automatically, pulling back the draft-rod ready for again takingeffect, said lever being suitably weighted at n for the purpose.

By the employment of the gravitating lever working under the axle,as Ihave represented it, a longer, and therefore more effective,lever maybeused than can be employed above the axle and working forward, owing tothe limited space between the axle and the body of the car. The twosheaves being mounted on one shaft,

there is less complication and expense than would'be withseparately-mounted sheaves. In this arrangement, by which the draft hookis considerably extended beyond the yoke l,

when drawing the car it is desirable to hold up the extended hook toprevent it from sagging, particularly if a chain is used to connect thehook, and I therefore suspend it by a rod orchain, p, from the top ofthe dash-board at q, or thereabout, said chain or rod being connected tothe hook, so as to swing out with the hook when extended, as indicatedin the dotted lines, and I also make the same extensible, so that whenthe load may happen to be mainly in the rear of the car, so as toelevate the front too high for the proper angle of the draft onthehorses, the extension of the suspender by the'greater stress thentaking effect on it will allow the draft-hook to range lower and move inthe proper line of the draft, the yoke lbeing suitably extended downwardfrom thebottom tension device, consisting of a tube, 8, suspended by oneor more links,t', and containing a coiled spring, a, seated at the lowerclosed end of the tube and supporting the rod 10 on its upper end by acollar, 12, the spring being strong enough to hold the hook up to theproper position close under the end of the platformw when the car is inthe normal condition, but

adapted to yield when the platform rises unduly, as before stated. c Ialso provide the draft-hook with an eveuerrest, so, which projectsforward from the bot tom of the hook a suitable distance to serve for asupport that relieves thedriver somewhat in roo 5 connecting the evenerby the car-hook, but is more specially useful in preventing (by soholding up the evener) the traces from sagging so much when the horsesstop,as they do, when (without such rest) both the evener and thewhiffletrees are allowed to swing down and hang directly from thehook,which is a source of much trouble, owing to the horses stepping outof them when so low.

I am aware that a gravitatiug ratehetlever combined with a ratchet-wheelon the axle and connected with the draft-rod by a chain passing backwardover a sheave, and thence forward to the draft-rod,is not new, and I donot claim such arrangement, broadly.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is a V V 1. In acar-starter, the combination, with a ratchet-wheel, a gravitatingratchet-lever, and a draft rod or chain to each axle, of a sheave foreach draft chain, both mounted on one shaft located midway between eachaxle, the said draft-chains being respectively connected with thelevers, and passing thence backward over a sheave and forward to therespective ends of the car and the draft-hooks thereat, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a carstarter, the combination,with the draft-hook, which in theoperation of the starter shifts forward from the ordinary support at 30the end of the platform and backward thereto,

of a suspending rod or chain having support at or about the top of thedash-board, and connected at its lower end with the hook and adapted toshift forward and backward there- 3 5 with, substantially as described.

3. In a car-starter,the combination,with the draft-hook, which in theoperations of the carstarter shifts forward from the ordinary support atthe end of the platform and backward 0 thereto, of an extensionsuspending rod or chain having support at or about the top of thedash-board, and connected at its lower end with the hook and adapted toshift with the hook, and also to extend under the stress of the 5 draftwhen the platform rises abnormally, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the evener-rest with the draft-hook, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in 50 presence of twowitnesses.

HENRY H. HOLMES.

Witnesses:

W. J. MORGAN, S. H. MORGAN.

